On Earth

Geoengineering: Are things so bad we need to terraform our own planet?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 02/24/2014 - 18:33

Cloud seeding When scientists present information on global warming or climate change, what they're trying to prove is how mankind is changing the Earth's atmosphere and causing shifts in the planet's weather system in response.

Could Skynet start in the third world?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 02/21/2014 - 16:13

IBM's Watson Imagine a setting where the average member of a culture is so focused on day to day issues they don't question the improvements such a system provides. Imagine the people come to see the system as a benevolent protector. How far would they let it grow? Too far to shut it down?

Black Mirror (UK, TV series, 2011)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 02/20/2014 - 21:25

Black Mirror screen capture Black Mirror is a brilliant 6-episode series, each depicting the social impact of new technologies or social advancement in the future. Showing on Britain's Channel 4, it can be a bit hard to watch in the States, but is worth every effort to see.

Elysium (Film, 2013)

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Wed, 02/19/2014 - 16:33

A look at the living area of Elysium Set in 2154 (140 years from now), the wealthy have fled an ecologically devastated Earth for the space station Elysium where they live what appears to be a an idyllic life in a pseudo-suburban setting filled with clean air, beautiful vistas, and luxurious homes stocked with miracle health machines.

Artifact from the Future: Choice Reducer 5000

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Wed, 02/19/2014 - 09:36

Choice reducer 5000 view There has been quite a bit of debate over adding facial recognition and allowing pop-up marketing on devices such as Google Glass - think iBeacon updates as an overlay on your vision. Today's IFTF artifact gives some control back to shoppers, using information overlays to help us identify the risk/reward for snacking.

Though I have to wonder if facial recognition could be just as useful. Walk in to a party and get an overlay of someone's real age, Facebook relationship status, favorite book or film, and how many times they've been married. Oh, and throw in their credit rating and you might fend off the jackals.

Where will technology and big data take our future?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Tue, 02/18/2014 - 13:16

Technology is slowly infiltrating every area of our human existence. I read Alistair Croll's Race Alongside the Machine today on re/code and it led me to a reflection on how we humans are being changed by the technology we develop and where this might lead in the future.

When I came up with the original idea for a future-focused site, I immediately created a short list I called "aspects of human existence." I've changed them to "elements of how we live" and use them as story tags, a taxonomy vocabulary in Drupal terms, in order to help users find content. After reading Croll's piece, I decided today's exercise would be to look at the (now much longer) list and see what I can come up with for where current trends and predictions will take us as we continue to combine humans, technology and big data.

What will it take for you to get a data chip embedded in your body?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Mon, 02/17/2014 - 15:33

Data chip implants
What it is - Implants embedded in our bodies. They allow us to access current services such as GPS and RFID. In the future, they can be used to store medical device and other data, connect with cellphone systems and even connect with friends as a form of artificial telepathy.

Is the act of creating a remote-controlled roach an immoral act?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 02/14/2014 - 14:08

Do-it-yourself cyborgs
What it is - Attaching a 'brain controlling' kit to a cockroach to turn it into a remote controlled organism.

Where you've seen it - Well, you can see a video about it here:

Will predictive policing be used to protect both victim and potential perpetrator?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Fri, 02/14/2014 - 13:41

Predictive policing is the use of data to identify crimes before they happen. A system like this monitors all available data feeds watching for trends and triggers that might lead to crime. Once a trend is identified as reching a crisis point, an attempt can be made to halt a crime before it can occur.

Podcast: Viewpoints on artificial intelligence by Nancy Fulda

Submitted by Daryl Weade on Thu, 02/13/2014 - 20:02

Nancy Fulda Hugo and Nebula awards nominee Nancy Fulda was on Writing Excuses podcast last month. The topic was artificial intelligence and Nancy has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science with a research focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning.